Combination seat and receptacle



Feb. 1, 1966 H. B. SYLER 3,232,686

COMBINATION SEAT AND RECEPTACLE Filed July 24, 1964 Il 40 x 46 v 47 INVENTOR 4 HARRISON 5. SYLER I a www ATTORNEYS United States Patent 6 CGMBINATION SEAT AND RECEPTACLE Harrison B. Syler, 1005A W. E St, Ontario, Calif. Filed July 24, 1964, Ser. No. 384,282 Claims. (Cl. 312-235) This invention relates to combination seats and receptacles or holders for disparate or like articles and which receptacles or holders are normally disposed under the seat. An example of the seat may be a stool, the receptacle or holder may be a waste basket, and the articles may be waste material such as waste paper and the like.

An important object of the invention is to provide a combination as above in which the receptacle or holder (hereinafter referred to broadly as receptacle) is pivotally and removably carried by the seat, thus making it convenient for the occupant of the seat to reach down, tip the receptacle on its pivots and deposit articles therein. This makes it possible for the seat and receptacle to remain together whereby one will not be in one location and the other more or less remote therefrom and out of reach.

Another important object of the invention is to provide the combination referred to above, which embodies dual function means for pivotally connecting the receptacle to the seat, and for permitting detachment of the receptacle from the seat in order to remove the receptacle and discharge its contents when desired.

Still another important object of the invention is to conserve space, since the receptacle is disposed directly under the seat and both occupy no more floor space than either one of them alone.

Yet another important object of the invention is to provide a combination seat and receptacle which permits ready removal of the receptacle from the seat and accurate replacement of the receptacle beneath the seat.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent during the course of the following detailed description of the invention, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, forming a portion of this disclosure, and in which drawing:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of an example of the combination seat and receptacle, showing the latter tipped, in full lines, in one direction, and tipped, in dot-and-dash lines, in the opposite direction.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the combination of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the combination of FIGS. 1 and 2 with portions broken away in order to disclose other portions of the structure.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view of the upper left-hand corner portion of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional View substantially on the line 5-5 of FIG. 2.

In the drawing, the letter A designates the combination seat and receptacle as a whole; the letter B the seat section; and the letter C the receptacle section.

The combination seat and receptacle may be of wood or metal, or partly of wood or/and metal, and hardened plastic material, by way of example, except as noted below.

The seat section B preferably includes a top or seat portion 10, which may have, without invention, padding, and be supported by a base portion 11 and legs 12. The seat portion is preferably fixedly attached to the base portion and legs which, together, provide a support portion. The seat section B preferably includes four spacedapart legs 12, extending downwardly from the corner parts of the base portion 11 and secured thereto at their upper end parts. Furthermore, the seat section B includes two oppositely disposed upper braces 13 and two Patented Feb. 1, 1%66 ice oppositely disposed upper braces 14 which are fixedly carried by the base portion 11. The braces 13 also support spring-biased balls 31 of latch means 30 to be subsequently described. There is also provided, for the seat section B, two oppositely disposed lower braces 15 below and paralleling the braces 13, and each secured to two adjacent legs 12. Preferably, the braces 13, 14 and 15 have their end portions recessed in the legs. The two lower braces also provide bearings and keepers for portions of the dual-function means 4% for pivotally connecting the receptacle C to the seat B and for permitting detachment of the receptacle C from the seat B, as will be subsequently described. The seat section B also includes a substantially centrally disposed horizontal brace 16 (FIG. 2) with its end portions recessed in the two legs 12 which carry the lower braces 15, and this brace 16 supports a leaf spring 56 to be later described.

The seat portion and support portion define an opensided and open-ended compartment 17 beneath the seat portion.

The receptacle section C preferably comprises two opposite walls 20 secured to two opposite walls 21 and a fixed bottom Wall 22 defining an upwardly opening compartment 23, with the bottom wall 22 being spaced from the lower edges of the walls 29 and 21 as may be seen in FIG. 2. A false bottom wall 24 of suitable springy material, which permits arching thereof, such as springy metal, is provided for the protection of portions of the means 4-6 to be later described and which are disposed in the compartment 25 defined by the bottom wall 22, false bottom wall 24 and lower portions of the walls 20 and 21. The false bottom wall 24 may have two of its opposite edge portions disposed in parallel grooves in the inner faces of the walls 20. For convenience in removing and replacing the false bottom wall 25, there may be a suitable opening (as a perforation) 26 (FIG. 2) therein for insertion of a finger of an operator. At the upper four corner portions of the meeting walls 20 and 21 I prefer to provide metallic corner braces 27, substantially right-angular in horizontal section, secured to the adjacent walls as by fasteners 28. These braces 27 also function as strike and keeper plates for the balls 31 of latch means 30 to be described. I prefer to provide hand holds, as knobs 22 secured to and projecting outwardly from the walls 21 to be grasped in order to effect manual tipping of the receptacle C.

In order to limit maximum oscillatory movements of the receptacle when it is swung outwardly in either direction, as in FIG. 1, I prefer to provide four latch means 30 each of which comprises a small ball 31 (such as of conventional shot or ball-bearing structure) normally projecting slightly from a suitable housing 32 (FIG. 4) and urged outwardly by an expansion coil spring 33. The housings 32 may be secured to the inner faces of the upper braces 13 as by suitable fasteners 34 as nails or screws. The means 30 also includes portions of the corner braces 27 defining ball-receiving sockets 35 opening outwardly as may be appreciated from FIG. 4 and adapted to receive peripheral portions of the balls 31 (as the receptacle C is tipped as in FIG. 1) to releasably retain the receptacle C in either of the two tipped positions.

Referring now to the two dual-function pivotal and latch means 40, of FIGS. 2, 3 and 5, each of the same includes a pivot pin 41 (which also functions as a latch part) with its free end portion 42 projecting outwardly from one end of a housing 43, secured to the fixed bottom wall 22, and urged outwardly by an expansion coil spring 44. The opposite end portion 45 projects outwardly from the other end of the housing 43 and is secured, substantially as in FIG. 5, to one end portion 46 of an elongate flexible member 47, as a Wire. This member 47 is trained over a pulley 48 (FIGS. 2 and 3) pivoted to the fixed bottom wall 22 to extend below it, and from whence the member 47 extends, as in FIG. 3, to a suitable hand-hold or knob 4? projecting through a wall 21 of the receptacle C. The free end of the hand-hold 49 may be grasped in order to pull the knob slightly outwardly and retract the pins 41. Functioning as bearings for the free end portions 42 of the pins and as keepers for them, when they function as bolts,.are the walls of two openings or perforations 50 in the central portions of the two lower braces (FIG, 3). So that the receptacle C may be removed or replaced with its longitudinal axis vertical, I prefer to provide a shallow elongate horizontal groove 52 in each of the inner faces of the two lower braces 15, which extends from the inner mouths of the perforations St) to the ends of the braces 15 and through the legs 12, as may be appreciated from FIG. 3. The grooves 52 are, of course, very slightly wider vertically than are the diameter of either of the pins 41.

in order to retain the receptacle C normally vertical and prevent undesired oscillations thereof when the combination seat and receptacle A is being moved or when an occupant sits upon the seat and may move his body, I prefer to provide anti-oscillatory means 55 which preferably comprises an arcuate leaf spring 56 secured, as at 57, to the centrally disposed brace 16 for its end portions to project upwardly in resilient contact with the bottom face of the false bottom wall 24.

By providing the corner braces 27 of metal, the walls 20 and 21 may be of wood or hardened plastic, and the braces will provide the necessary support for the walls. In addition the rubbing thereagainst by the balls 31 will not tend to form grooves in the metal as they would in the case of wood or plastic.

The provision of the grooves 52 in the lower braces 15 permits the operator to start the return of the receptacle section to the seat section by pulling on the knob 49 until the free ends 42 of the pivot pins 41 are retracted enough so that they may enter the mouths of the grooves, then release the knob and slide the receptacle section into the compartment 17. When the free ends 42 reach the perforations 50 they will automatically slide thereinto, urged by the springs 44,.

Various changes in the size, shape and arrangement of.

parts may be made to the form of invention herein shown and described, without departing from the spirit of the invention or scope of the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A combination of a seat and a receptacle for waste material; said combination including a seat section having a seat portion and a support portion for said seat portion below said seat portion including spaced-apart legs, said portions defining a compartment having opposite side openings and opposite end openings, and contained beneath said seat portion, said receptacle section having upwardly extending walls and a bottom wall defining a compartment having an upwardly opening month, said seat section including a substantially horizontally disposed brace secured to two of said legs and closely adjacent one of two opposite of said upwardly extending walls; dual function means carried by said sections at the lower parts thereof for providing said receptacle section to said support portion so as to be tipped with portions of said receptacle section outwardly of either of two opposite of said openings, and for detachably securing said receptacle section to said supporting portion, whereby said receptacle portion may be removed bodily from beneath said seat portion through the two other opposite openings; and latch means carried by said brace and said one wall to releasable retain said receptacle section in a tipped position.

2. The combination according to claim 1 characterized in that corner braces are provided at the corners of said upwardly extending walls, and one of said corner braces is provided with a socket, and said latch means includes a spring-biased ball carried by said horizontally disposed brace and disposed in a portion of the path of travel of said one of said corner braces and said socket therein upon tipping of said receptacle section.

3. The combination according to claim 1 characterized in that said dual-function means includes spring-biased in that each of said braces and legs is provided with a horizontal groove extending into said braces to said bearings and extending horizontally through said legs, whereby upon retraction of said pins said pins may he slid long said grooves, upon manual-instituted sliding movement of said receptacle section through two opposite of said openings.

5. The combination according to claim 3 characterized in that each of said braces and legs is provided with a horizontal groove extending into said braces to said bearings and extending horizontally through said legs, whereby upon retraction of said pins said pins may he slid along said grooves, upon manual-instituted sliding movement of. said receptacle section through two opposite of said openings, and said retraction means includes flexible members connected to the opposite ends of said pins and extending beneath said bottom wall, and a handheld connected to said flexible members and. extends to exteriorly of said receptacle section.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 739,581- 9/1903 Bragunier 312286 X 1,065,280 6/ 1913 Stanger et al 248-422 1,258,640 3/1918 Abramson 312-235 X 1,595,263 7/1926 Thornberry 312-286 X 2,515,261 7/1950 Poskin 297364 CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner.

CHANCELLOR E. HARRIS, Examiner, 

1. A COMBINATION OF A SEAT AND A RECEPTACLE FOR WASTE MATERIAL; SAID COMBINATION INCLUDING A SEAT SECTION HAVING A SEAT PORTION AND A SUPPORT PORTION FOR SAID SEAT PORTION BELOW SAID SEAT PORTION INCLUDING SPACED-APART LEGS, SAID PORTIONS DEFINING A COMPARTMENT HAVING OPPOSITE SIDE OPENINGS AND OPPOSITE END OPENINGS, AND CONTAINED BENEATH SAID SEAT PORTION, SAID RECEPTACLE SECTION HAVING UPWARDLY EXTENDING WALLS AND A BOTTOM WALL DEFINING A COMPARTMENT HAVING AN UPWARDLY OPENING MOUTH, SAID SEAT SECTION INCLUIDING A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL DISPOSED BRACE SECURED TO TWO OF SAID LEGS AND CLOSELY ADJACENT ONE OF TWO OPPOSITE OF SAID UPWARDLY EXTENDING WALLS; DUAL FUNCTION MEANS CARRIED BY SAID SECTIONS AT THE LOWER PARTS THEREOF FOR PROVIDING SAID RECEPTACLE SECTION TO SAID SUPPORT PORTION SO AS TO BE TIPPED WITH PORTIONS OF SAID RECEPTACLE SECTION OUTWARDLY OF EITHER OF TWO OPPOSITE OF SAID OPENINGS, AND FOR DETACHABLY SECURING SAID RECEPTACLE SECTION TO SAID SUPPORTING PORTION, WHEREBY SAID RECEPTACLE PORTION MAY BE REMOVED BODILY FROM BENEATH SAID SEAT PORTION THROUGH THE TWO OTHER OPPOSITE OPENINGS; AND LATCH MEANS CARRIED BY SAID BRACE AND SAID ONE WALL TO RELEASABLE RETAIN SAID RECEPTACLE SECTION IN A TIPPED POSITION. 